There are unique challenges that come with re-inventing a legend. How far do you go away from the source material without alienating the fans who liked a character or storyline in the first place? But also, how close do you stay to the initial mythos while also successfully creating your own thing?
Comics icons Paul Dini, Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett walked that tightrope back in 1999 when they created Batman Beyond, a sequel – in part – to the beloved Batman: The Animated Series that hinged on the introduction of a new hero in an unfamiliar world. Terry McGinnis was a teenager tasked with fighting crime in a futuristic Neo-Noir Gotham. But he did it with the assistance of an aged Bruce Wayne.
“With Batman Beyond, I definitely paid attention, because like many of us of a certain age, I was a huge fan of Batman: The Animated Series. That (show) came out and changed everything about how we thought that stuff could be adapted and interpreted for a different medium,” said comics writer Evan Narcisse, who is tackling a new chapter in the saga of Terry McGinnis in the team-up DC adventure Batman Static: Beyond.
DC Confirms More Batman Beyond, With a Twist
Image via Warner Bros. Animation
There’s good news for Batman Beyond fans, with DC confirming a new story with the beloved character. It comes with a twist: Batman Beyond is teaming up with another underrated superhero.
DC officially announced Batman/Static: Beyond, a new six-issue limited comic book series that will hit stores this fall under the publisher’s DC Elseworlds imprint. The debut issue is set to launch on Nov. 12, and DC has already teased how Terry McGinnis, the cyberpunk guardian of Neo-Gotham, and Virgin Hawkins, the protector of Dakota City’s future, will unite to save the planet. Both characters are breakout animated stars from the Batman Beyond and Static Shock series, respectively, and now they’ll be going on a high-stakes comics mission that DC claims will ‘reshape Earth’s place in the cosmos.’
Issue #1 of the book is on sale as we speak.
“Batman Beyond was totally different in terms of – they threw out almost everything you know,” Narcisse continued during an exclusive conversation with CBR’s podcast Heroes Journey. “Terry wasn’t rich. His origin had some kind of thematic similarities to Bruce’s. But from a personality perspective, he was not like Bruce at all. … I was intrigued from that standpoint.
“And then everything else about the world, right? This is a cyberpunk, cool, edgy, slick modality that Batman Beyond operated in. Which was totally different than the dark, deco style of Batman: The Animated Series. Where you knew what the references were, especially with the 1980s movies, the Tim Burton movies, having established that kind of aesthetic. But this was something different. It felt like, ‘OK, this isn’t even an evolution of the old Gotham.’ Them calling it Neo Gotham let you know that, yeah, things are totally different.”
Credit: DC Comics
We return to Neo Gotham, as well as the city of Dakota (that’s protected by the superhero Static), in Narcisse’s book. The Elseworld story plunges readers immediately into a mission in space, where Earth is on the verge of joining an intergalactic grouping known as The Collective.
But even before that happens, we meet a pivotal character named Melvin, who’s involved in protests against things that are happening back home.
“One of the subtextual pillars of this story very much is alienation by virtue of the modern technology that we use every day. And not just alienation. When you’re alienated from the social systems that would give your life meaning, you are ripe for being manipulated by misinformation and disinformation,” Narcisse told CBR.
“We’re not driving it too hard in this story. But that definitely is a plot beat,” he continues. “Melvin has other people whispering in his ear about this technology – where it comes from, and what it’s the dangers it holds. He latches onto that, because he’s already kind of disaffected. And so that message finds fertile ground in his brain.
“And you can probably guess the transformations that he undergoes across this story. But that’s where it starts. He has the wrong people whispering in his ear and getting the wrong kinds of information. That sets him off on his path, which is clearly a collision course with Static and Batman.”
Here’s more from our conversation with Evan Narcisse, which will drop on CBR’s YouTube channel in full on Saturday, Nov. 15.
Credit: DC Comics
You’re coming into this Batman Beyond world, and you’re bringing Static into that. What is that guiding principle, or idea, behind bringing these two characters together?
The origin story for this project really starts with Nikolas Draper-Ivey, one of my artistic collaborators on this book. A couple years ago, he did a short story in the milestone 30th anniversary special, which was called Static Beyond. And it was basically Virgil Hawkins, aka Static, as a grown up, having a quick adventure with Terry McGinnis, who’s a teenager.
That was a great story. Nick’s obviously a super talented storyteller, an amazing artist, and he wants to do more. I think there was probably some hunger on the part of fans to see more. And so this thing eventually got greenlit at DC, and Nick asked me to come on and help tell the story.
And it was very meaningful because again, even though I was not in the sweet spot of being in grade school or high school and watching these shows coming up, both of them meant a lot to me. Especially Static. The Static Shock cartoon was an outgrowth of the character’s publishing history as part of Milestone Media.
The Batman Beyond Movie Fans Have Been Begging for Already Exists (But You Probably Haven’t Seen It)
Image via Lumis Entertainment
For some time, fans kept asking for a Batman Beyond film. They loved the cartoon from the 1990s so much, the Justice League Unlimited cartoon and DC Comics began incorporating, Bruce Wayne’s future protégé, Terry McGinnis, in more mainstream stories. He took over the Bat-mantle in Neo-Gotham after Bruce grew old and sick. Under Bruce’s guidance, Terry learned how to wield the high-tech Batsuit and fight crime with Bruce in his ear.
It had the energy of the Blade Runner movie, creating a more explosive Gotham City. Viewers loved the futuristic aesthetic as it really revamped the dour, grimy Gotham City they were accustomed to. While Warner Bros. won’t be pulling the trigger on Terry’s journey anytime soon, some fans should know that there is a fan film about Terry that they missed: Batman Beyond: Year One. The fan film is a great proof of concept as to what a live-action adaptation could be.
When Milestone Media came out in 1993, I was in college. That meant the world to me to see these four black comics creators… these guys came together and created a universe that felt like the world I was moving through as a young man. It was deeply multicultural. The references to hip-hop and youth culture and fashion and music felt like they were of the moment. …
When the Static Shock cartoon came on, even though I was too old for it, like by far, I still had all this pride knowing that this character made a leap that so many comic book characters don’t get to do. Think of all the great superheroes who haven’t had an adaptation as the main role.
Then you add stuff like Phil LaMarer really making Virgil sound like a teenager who you could be annoyed with, but also want to be saved. So the idea of putting these characters together in a new story felt like the fulfillment of a collective desire. The people who grew up with these characters are all adults now, right? They have fond memories of the shows and the comics.
What Nick and I and Miguel are doing is trying to synthesize all that love and that pining away into a story that really feels like we’re fulfilling the kind of like feedback loop of comics, the animation and Manga comics, and bring them together with some, hopefully, more evolved sensibilities and understandings.
Image via DC Comics
You get a chance, with this book, to write Terry. And you’ve written for Bruce Wayne before. You’ve put your fingerprints on Batman. But will you get a chance to do older Bruce? Can we expect to see older Bruce as part of this storyline eventually?
He’s in there. I think he’s in there in not too different a way that he was in Batman Beyond. Like, not always the main driver of a story, but there to be a commentator. There to show you the contrast between him and Terry’s takes. And that’s also enlivened by Virgil’s presence. In Terry’s mind, Virgil and Bruce are just two old people who don’t get it, and don’t get him!
One other thing that’s important about these characters is their backgrounds. This is very much a story that’s rooted in the places that made them. Virgil is an adult who grew up being tear gassed, and getting electrical superpowers as an accident. And watching his whole city transformed by this act of … let’s just say institutional violence.
And the things he wants to do for his city, and the world, are very different than what Terry wants. Terry grew up in Gotham City, which is very much dog eat dog. The rich and the wealthy run the city. And his journey starts with revenge, right? More of a personal motivation than Virgil’s. And I think they have very (different) outlooks on what it means to do the same job. So Bruce is there to be, ‘Stand up for yourself!’ But also, ‘Figure out the right thing to do.’
So he’s in there. Not a lot. We really want to focus on the dynamic between Static and Terry and showing readers, ‘Hey, you’ve seen what Gotham City looks like in the future as Neo Gotham. Here’s what Dakota looks like. Here’s stuff from the Milestone mythologies that show up and intermingle with the DCAU stuff.’
I think there’s going to be a real grab bag of fun, and streams crossing. There’s some stuff that I can’t tease, but if you know these characters and where they come from, I think you’ll be pretty happy.
Terry McGinnis’ Batman is leaping forward on the poster for Batman Beyond.Image via Warner Bros.
Release Date
1999 – 2001-00-00
Network
The WB
Writers
Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Stan Berkowitz, Rich Fogel, Hilary Bader, Bob Goodman, Gerry Conway
